“Enter a magical world filled with your favorite things,” the back jacket states in Payton Cosell Turner’s book, Every Little Thing: A Flat Vernacular Coloring Book.

~ What ~
This eighty-page paperback targets those who enjoy coloring already drawn patterned pictures centered on animals, plants, and objects from the 1980s. Geared for ages ten years old and above, it has black line drawings on both sides of the pages with an occasional blue or red line-drawn item randomly inserted.

~ Why ~
The drawings are the focal point of the book and can be colored the way the reader visions them. I like how the illustrator has made patterns by placing sophomoric-looking objects in systematic formats, creating intricate patterns that need to be looked at more to see their details.

The eclectic designs may include alligators crisscrossing with boom boxes, long-legged flamingos aligned as pie cuts, plants with iguanas, bluejays, and sunglasses, Bat Man looking anteaters, and spiraling armadillos to name a few.

~ Why Not ~
There is a lot of repetition of designs that some may find monotonous. Since the pictures are on both sides of the pages, felt tip markers may bleed through the cardstock paper. Due to some small designs, crayons, pastels, or paint would be too thick to work with; colored pencils would be the only viable option. Another concern is some pictures cover two open pages so they cannot be cut out of the book and lined up. The book does open completely flat when using.

~ Who ~
Using her artistic drawings of color, pop culture, and imagery, Turner is co-owner of a wallpaper studio in New York.

~ Wish ~
I wish the pictures were one-sided and covered only one page so they could be cut out and used. It would be helpful to have the book completely flat when opened to color more easily.

~ Want ~
If you enjoy looking at detailed black and white drawings or like to color repetitive lined drawings as a way to relax, this book would work for you. As an artist, I especially like the patterns made using animals and plants but think it would be tedious to repetitively color them.

Thanks to the Blogging for Books for offering this book to read and review for my honest opinion.

This review will be posted on the Blogging for Books and Amazon with links on Bookfun.org, Pinterest, Godinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+.

2 responses to “Every Little Thing”

If you are not normally artistic, these are great books. This one was good. So far the best I have seen is one on nature from Michaels (I have a degree in art so am pretty picky). Thx for your post, Over!